Obama Signs Stimulus Bill & Markets Try to Fight Back From Today’s Lows

Stimulus bill signed into law

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama signed into law the most sweeping economic package in decades, a rescue plan designed to create millions of jobs, spur consumer spending and revive the nation’s outlook.

“We’re putting Americans to work doing the work that America needs done,” Mr. Obama said ahead of the signing, citing major new investments in infrastructure, education, health care and energy. The setting for the signing, the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, was meant to underscore the investments the new law will make in “green” energy-related jobs.

The plan, he said, will put the U.S. economy on a firmer foundation. He called it a balanced plan, with a mix of tax cuts and investments, and said he was assigning a team of managers to make sure the money was spent “wisely and well.”

Ahead of Mr. Obama’s arrival in Colorado, the White House went live with a Web site, www.recovery.gov, that will allow people to track where the money is being spent. The White House press office also promoted the projected job growth for each state and congressional district.